The week of Oct. 23 – Oct. 27, the University of Arkansas – Monticello Student Government Association organized Spirit Week for the Homecoming festivities. Throughout the week, students could dress up for each themed day.

• Monday           Pajama Day
• Tuesday           Impersonation Day
• Wednesday      Anything Wacky Day
• Thursday          Spirit Day
• Friday              Support a Cause Day

   For the first few days of Homecoming week, the rain dampened many students’ spirits. A glance around campus on any day revealed that many students did not participate in the themed days. Most students said they did not know about the themed days for Spirit Week even though announcements were sent through the student e-mail accounts. 

   Director of Student Programs and Activities Lindsey Kight said, “I couldn’t tell you,” when asked why few students participated in Spirit Day. “That’s something I’m still trying to figure out.” 

    Kight said the board reviews events each year and makes decisions as to how they can garner more student participation. 

Photo by Brooke Burger

To be a King - First-year student Joey Donigan donned a crown for Wacky Day.

   Though the weather and lack of information may have kept most students from dressing up for each day, some students participated either out of school spirit or out of sheer coincidence. Wednesday Oct. 25, also known as Anything Wacky Day, gave rise to the most participation mostly due to sheer coincidence. 

   For Anything Wacky Day, students were encouraged to wear anything wacky. However, due to the rain, more umbrellas spotted the campus than wacky outfits.

   First-year students Terrance Damper and Brandon Baker try to keep dry outside of the Memorial Classroom Building Wednesday. Both students said they did not know about Spirit Week. 

   Though Damper did not know about wacky day, he joked, “I wore my wacky hat today. It’s wacky because most beanies have two balls, but mine has three.” 

   Many students said they forgot about the themed day or that they were completely unaware of the event even though announcements were sent via e-mail. 

   When asked why he did not dress up for Anything Wacky Day, Baker said, “I didn’t even know today was wacky day to be honest.”  

   While many students did not dress up due to the rainy weather or because of a lack of information, at least one student on campus decided to take advantage of the opportunity to dress out of the ordinary. 

   Rashaad Calaham, a first-year student and band member, sported mix-matched clothes and a T-shirt professing his self-love for wacky day. “I wanted to look different. I am usually more dressed up. Today was a free day for me to dress down,” he said. 

Photo by Brooke Burger

Wacky - Sophomore Dustin Banks clowns for Wacky Day.

   Some students on campus appear wacky by nature. Joey Donigan, a first-year student, and Justin Banks, a sophomore, both donned some wacky appearances despite not knowing about Anything Wacky Day. 

   “I went to Burger King, and I had it my way,” said Donigan while wearing a Burger King crown with a French fry jutting out of the top. “I didn’t know today was wacky day, I am just wacky naturally.” 

   Banks also said he had no idea about the themed days for Homecoming week. However, earlier that week he styled his hair into a Mohawk. “It was a way for me to stand out and quit being shy,” Banks said. 

   Although the rain and other factors may have halted some students’ participation, a few wacky sights could still be had thanks to some very wacky UAM students. 

  The other themed days of Spirit Week also had very little participation, if any. According to representative Brittany Pickett, SGA had planned to advertise Spirit Week more, but they were unable to get the word out other than the announcement sent via e-mail. 

   “I think the reason people did not dress up was because the information did not get out enough,” Pickett said. “We didn’t chalk the campus and we didn’t post fliers. The week we had talked about chalking the campus, the weather was poor. Things just didn’t work out the way they were planned.” 

   Monday, Oct. 23, students could relax and wear pajamas to class for Pajama Day. However, only a few students were spotted wearing pajamas during the day. Due to the poor weather conditions, some students may have found it too cold for pajamas. 

   Oct. 24, Tuesday of Spirit Week marked Impersonation Day. Students were encouraged to dress up and impersonate prominent people. Unfortunately, Impersonation Day saw little support. Very few students dressed up. Those who did participate masqueraded as doctors, television show characters and other similar figures. Most students when questioned about Impersonation Day seemed completely unaware of it. 

Photo by Brooke Burger

Self-love - First-year student Calaham enjoyed dressing down for Wacky Day.

   Spirit Day, Thursday Oct. 26, students were encouraged to wear green and white in support of the Weevils’ homecoming game, Saturday Oct. 28. Even though some students who participated in the Homecoming Parade wore school colors, the majority of the student body did not. 

   Friday, Oct. 27, wrapped up Spirit Week. Designated as Support-A-Cause day, students could dress up to stand up for what they believe in and show it as they walked around campus. Unfortunately, it seems that many did not have a cause to support. Either that or they were standing up for skipping classes because it appeared many students decided not to attend Friday. 

   Emily King wore a Susan G. Koeman’s Race for the Cure shirt, but when asked about it she looked wide-eyed and said, “It was a complete accident. I didn’t know it was Support-A-Cause Day. I just reached in my closet and grabbed something.” She did participate in the race this past year, saying, “It was just so awesome. I want to do it again.” 

   Unfortunately, Spirit Week did not have much participation from the campus community. E-mails were sent via the campus e-mail system; however, many students still reported not knowing about the themed days for Spirit Week.